On March 23, 2005, the United States petroleum-refining and chemical-processing industry was irrevocably altered. It was on that day that BP’s Texas City, TX, refinery – the second-largest oil refinery in the state and the third-largest in the country – was the scene of a devastating explosion that was caused by the ignition of a hydrocarbon vapor cloud in a isomerization process unit. The blast claimed 15 lives and injured more than 180 people.
A subsequent investigation determined that the deaths occurred when the blast’s pressure wave struck a series of contractor trailers that were located near the epicenter of the explosion. The investigation also ascertained that the trailers were located inappropriately close to the process unit’s blast-relief outlets, which greatly contributed to the loss of life.
As a result of the investigative findings, many builders and suppliers of the mobile structures that house workers at refinery sites rushed to develop what would come to be known as “blast-resistant modules,” or BRMs, that would be able to better withstand the forces of an explosion. While these efforts were admirable (and necessary), they were also a bit premature since it would be two more years before the American Petroleum Institute (API) would release its API Recommended Practice (RP) 753: Management of Hazards Associated with Location of Process Plant Portable Buildings.
“As Logistics Coordinator at Marathon Petroleum’s Catlettsburg, KY, refinery in 2005, I can tell you that the industry was caught somewhat ‘flat-footed’ by the Texas City explosion,” recalled Larry Bertie, who has since retired from Marathon Petroleum. “In response to the explosion, my colleagues and I were charged with getting workers and conventional office trailers out of blast zones, and we did that right away. However, it actually took the industry many years before it landed on exactly what the proper BRM design should be to ensure that lives were protected in blast zones.”
“What we discovered in 2005-06 was that we were too soon to market,” added Robert Slagel, CEO and President of DropBox, Inc., a subsidiary of the Portable Solutions Group (PSG), Ironton, OH, and a provider of containerized products and custom builds for use at jobsites, refineries and plants worldwide. “Everyone was scrambling around, saying, ‘How are we going to protect ourselves from explosions in the future?’ The refining associations had not yet established any hard-and-fast rules of how they would protect people from explosions and the products that were developed turned out to be obsolete after only a few years. So, it turned out that the industry panicked before it could mature.”
While all of this trial and error was taking place, the refining industry, as Bertie noted, worked expeditiously to improve the safety for its site personnel by relocating all mobile units outside of potential blast zones. While this undoubtedly improved site safety, it also meant that the employees would have to walk 15 or 20 minutes before entering the plant, going to lunch or taking mandatory breaks. Alternatively, they would have to be bused in, at a prohibitive cost of $45 or $50 per employee.
All of the uncertainty ceased when the API released RP 753, which provides guidance in reducing risk of explosion, fire and toxic releases to personnel that are located in portable buildings.
Among the guiding principles of RP 753 are:
- Locate personnel away from covered process areas consistent with safe and effective operations
- Minimize the use of occupied portable buildings near covered process buildings
- Manage the occupancy of portable buildings, especially during periods of increased risk, such as planned startup or shutdown operations
- Design, construct, install and maintain occupied portable buildings to protect occupants against potential hazards
- Manage the use of portable buildings as an integral part of the design, construction, maintenance and operation of a facility
Armed with these guidelines, the producers of mobile buildings now had a blueprint that could be used to direct their BRM development efforts. Most significantly, effective BRMs would have to meet certain ratings pertaining to blast waves, pounds per square inch (psi) and overpressure. Today’s API 753-compliant BRMs meet those standards because they are constructed of explosion-resistant steel-reinforced roof and wall panels, and are available in standard 12' by 40' and 12' by 20' sizes. Multiple 12' units are also capable of being linked together to make a larger complex. All can be outfitted with a number of options depending on the needs of the facility, including control rooms, ports for incoming electrical and communication services, air conditioning, lockers, showers, break rooms with kitchenettes, restrooms, windows, cargo doors, emergency lighting, insulation, smoke detectors, and washers and dryers.
BRMs can also be custom-built to meet the specific needs of the facility, and offer a variety of configurations to meet the customer’s layout needs, including multiplex units that can be stacked two stories high.
“Back in 2005 and 2006, there was a real panic for a couple of years; the refineries wanted to know not only how they could better protect their people, but how they could get the mobile units back close to the work area,” said Slagel. “Now the refineries know what they need to do to protect their people and how state-of-the-art BRMs can help them do that.”
The BRM market, according to Slagel, is also one that will only continue to grow. “The existing refineries and the fact that there are a lot of new LNG (liquefied natural gas) plants coming online will drive the BRM need,” he said.
You’re Invited
Robert Slagel will address the current state of the BRM industry, and its potential for growth, on Sunday, March 19, at 3:30 pm MST, when he gives a presentation titled “Blast Resistant Modules Help Meet Demanding Standards for Safety” at the Modular Building Institute’s 2017 World of Modular Annual Convention & Tradeshow at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa in Tucson, AZ.
Slagel’s presentation will focus on how the “increase in petrochemical-process complexity, along with the overall size of production plants, has led to a rise in the chance that accidental explosions could occur.” Noting that OSHA regulations demand that an employer “furnish to each of his employees a place of employment that is free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm,” Slagel will illustrate how today’s advanced BRM designs and capabilities are “capable of reducing the chance of catastrophic injury or death during an emergency incident” at a refinery or chemical-processing facility.
For additional information on DropBox and its complete lines of Blast Resistant Modules, please visit www.dropboxinc.com, or call (888) 388-7768.
About DropBox Inc.
DropBox Inc. is an ISO shipping container-modification specialist that provides standard containerized products and custom builds for use at jobsites, plants and man camps worldwide. Standard products include blast-resistant modules, sanitation stations, shower trailers, mobile offices, mobile tool cribs, decontamination stations,
chemical-storage units, high-security storage units, laundry units and welding stations. DropBox has a long history of serving the industrial, commercial and military markets with the best solutions to help make projects run smoothly, safely and securely.
